Reasons for non-consideration of brands and the role of prior experience

The recent anti-consumption research reveals that studying the reasons for not choosing a brand is as valuable for understanding consumer behaviour as researching their motivation for choosing brands. Taking a holistic approach (as opposed to focusing on a specific side of anti-consumption), this article explores all claimed reasons for brand non-consideration and quantifies how much each reason contributes to potential customer deficiency. An online survey examined incidences and reasons for non-consideration of 27 brands of chocolate bars by 1068 respondents. The good news for managers is that about two-thirds (57 per cent) of the reasons for non-consideration, by customers who have never experienced the brand, is directly attributable to the brand (as opposed to competition (8 per cent) or consumers themselves (27 per cent). The results demonstrate that most instances, when current category users reject brands from consideration, are within brand managers influence. Therefore, actions addressing specific reasons for brand non-consideration might expand a brand's customer base. This article suggests specific marketing activities that could achieve this goal.